Purple Knights earned their place in league tradition

The Purple Knights of 2011 accomplished that task under coach Clifford Barthe by crushing Scotlandville, 67-43.
 

Moving deep into the Division I playoffs, the 2020 group of Purple Knights has the opportunity to duplicate that feat, but perhaps without its head coach on the sideline.
 

The latest of a long line of accomplished mentors, Mitchell Johnson, has been on an extended leave of absence to tend to a private matter.
His players miss the coach but haven’t allowed his absence to leave a void.
Under the watchful eyes of assistant coach Deion Taylor, St. Aug has won 12 consecutive games behind the senior leadership of captain and point guard D’Mari Wiltz.
 

It was just a year ago that St. Augustine lost to its playoff nemesis, Scotlandville, 73-53, in the Division I championship game. And the two titans are on another collision course. The Knights are 29-1 entering the quarterfinal round as the No. 2 seed, while Scotlandville (31-3) is No. 1 and on the other side of the bracket.
 

To win a sixth state title, albeit in a split playoff system, would be a milestone for a program that entered the Catholic League in 1967. Jesuit has won the most titles – eight– but none since 2001.
 

The other Purple Knights’ championships came in 1983, 1992, 1995 and 1999.
De La Salle has won seven state championships, the latest in 2017 as a Division II member. Brother Martin and St. Aloysius have six crowns, Holy Cross three and Archbishops Rummel and Shaw two apiece.
 

And like those who have gone before it, St. Augustine has carved its own niche in basketball tradition, which began as a member of the old Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Organization (LIALO)
 

Shaping a tradition
 

The Catholic League has been steeped in a winning tradition. But even two years before St. Augustine took its place among the group, the Purple Knights altered the events that made the league even stronger.
 

In 1965, the Catholic Youth Organization athletic director Ray Mock invited St. Augustine to take part in the 16th annual basketball tournament as one of five independent teams, including three-time Class 1A champion Newman, Rummel and Shaw, which had not yet joined the Catholic League, and ex-LIALO school Xavier Prep.
 

Jesuit had just won state titles in 1964, 1965 and 1966 but lost a practice game against the Knights a year before.
 

St. Augustine’s stars were two juniors – forward Harold Sylvester and guard Calvin Johnson. Xavier Prep was led by Ivory Coco and Bobby Bissant, who both became all-time great names in local prep sports.
 

Whatever apprehensions that existed about playing interracial games were quickly dispelled when Jesuit defeated Xavier Prep, 83-75, in the first game, and St. Aloysius beat St. Aug for the second time that season, 67-55, after the Knights won their opener vs. Redemptorist the night before.
 

Despite Sylvester’s brilliant 22-point show, St. Aug’s effort was foul-plagued and costly. 
 

De La Salle went on to give coach Johnny Altobello his sixth CYO tournament title by ending Jesuit’s streak, 72-59, in the semis and beating St. Aloysius, 54-51, in the finals.
 

Jesuit’s Fabian Mang, who set a tournament record by scoring 98 points in three games, was named the CYO’s Most Outstanding Player. 
 

Sylvester and Johnson earned spots on the all-tournament team after winning the consolation game, in which they scored 27 and 25 points, respectively, by a 90-53 count over the Blue Jays.
 

Now a formidable foe
 

The following year, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle selected John Mecom Jr. as owner of the soon-to-be New Orleans franchise, and professional football would have a far-reaching effect on local prep sports.
 

But the Purple Knights of 1966-67 would also change the CYO Tournament and the game, although they were a year away from joining the LHSAA.
With Sylvester and Johnson back for their senior seasons, the Purple Knights were again kingpins in the soon-to-be-defunct LIALO.
 

Coached by George “Nick” Conner, St. Aug was prepared to rule the ’66 tournament. 
 

On the second day of the games played at the Loyola Fieldhouse, St. Aug defeated Jesuit, 57-50, by outscoring the Jays 24-12 in the fourth period, while Altobello’s De La Salle squad edged St. Aloysius, 35-33.
 

The Knights’ win followed a 59-54 triumph over Redemptorist in the opening round.
 

The championship game on Sunday, Dec. 19, received Page 2 billing in the Monday T-P.
 

It was another foul-plagued game, but this time it was De La Salle doing the fouling. The Purple Knights shot 20 free throws. And the trio of Johnson, Sylvester and Frank Adams accounted for 42 points  as the Knights denied Altobello a seventh title, 56-50. 
 

Altobello used 13 players, while Conner played just seven. Sylvester was named the tournament MVP.
 

It would be the last CYO Tournament for the next five years. For whatever reason, the CYO  canceled the games until 1971, substituting the traditional event with a Catholic school invitational tournament that excluded their 1966 champion.
 

Since its return, the Purple Knights have won 11 more.
 

Ron Brocato can be reached at [email protected].